Search

This study analyses the specific neuropsychological profiles of children with dyslexia and/or dyscalculia, in particular concerning phonological awareness, lexical access, working memory and numerical processing. Four groups were selected, through a screening process that used strict criteria, from 1568 7-10-year-old children: 90 with typical development, 61 with dyslexia, 13 with dyscalculia, and 14 with dyslexia + dyscalculia. Children with dyslexia show a deficit in phonological processing, lexical access, and verbal working memory, especially with alphabetic stimuli. Children with developmental dyscalculia show a deficit of phonological processing, verbal working memory with digits and visual-spatial working memory. They also show an impairment in spatial representation of numbers and in the automatic access to numerical semantics to a greater extent than those with double disturbance. Children with dyslexia + dyscalculia show a profile generally characterized by the summation of the deficits of the two disorders, although they have a lower deficit in access to numerical semantics and mental representation of numbers.

Two neurodevelopmental conditions, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), have been associated with executive function (EF) impairments but the specificity of their impairments is still controversial. The present meta-analysis aimed to identify the differences in EF profiles of ASD, ADHD, and ASD+ADHD in relation to a control group of individuals with typical development (TD) and to understand whether the EF performance could change depending upon the type of measure used to assess EF (performance tests vs. questionnaires). Results from 36 eligible studies revealed that ADHD and ASD showed more difficulties than the TD group in tests and, particularly, in questionnaires. No significant differences in the EF profile emerged between ASD and ADHD when assessed through neuropsychological tests (d = 0.02), while significant differences emerged when assessed through questionnaires, with ADHD having higher ratings than ASD (d = −0.34). EF questionnaires and neuropsychological tests may catch two different constructs of EF, with the former being more predictive of everyday life EF impairments. The comparison between the double diagnosis group (ADHD+ASD) and the clinical groups pointed out that the former has a more similar EF profile to the ADHD-alone one and that it shows more difficulties than ASD-alone.

La presente ricerca analizza le competenze relative alle Funzioni Esecutive di un campione di 59 bambini con sviluppo tipico o difficoltà attentive/iperattività (sintomi ADHD) di età compresa tra i 7 e i 13 anni, sottoposti a una serie di test neuropsicologici (batteria TeleFE) e valutazioni da parte di genitori e insegnanti, tramite questionari standardizzati (Conners 3 e QUFE). Data la numerosità delle variabili per ciascun test sono state estratte e selezionate le misure principali. La memoria di lavoro risulta l’abilità più deficitaria nel caso di difficoltà combinate Inattentive/Iperattività (Inatt/Iper). Per tutte le variabili considerate, il profilo inattentivo (Inatt) sembra mostrare difficoltà più generalizzate, identificandosi come la forma maggiormente disesecutiva. Tali risultati sono confermati dalle analisi di correlazione svolte sui questionari Conners 3, i quali hanno, inoltre, sottolineato una concordanza tra la valutazione degli insegnanti e il funzionamento esecutivo (in particolare, nel fattore esecutivo generale e nella memoria). Infine, le risposte dei docenti al QUFE sono riuscite a discernere sensibilmente le prestazioni esecutive di bambini con sintomi di attenzione/iperattività da quelli a sviluppo tipico e non, imputando però maggiori difficoltà ai profili combinati Inatt/Iper.

This paper is aimed at investigating the clinical properties of the Italian Battery for ADHD (BIA) in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) markers and evaluating the cognitive processes involved in these developmental disorders. The participants were: 133 with typical development (TD), 41 children with ADHD-traits, 14 with ODD-traits and 15 with SLD-traits. All participants were assessed using the BIA tests and other non-executive tests in order to control for executive and non-executive components. Results showed that BIA is effective to discriminate between the ADHD and TD group, in particular as regarding four specific tests assessing inhibitory control and sustained attention: Ranette, Auditory Attention, Numeric Stroop (errors) and CP (omissions). On the other hand, children with ODD performed more poorly than TD on MF and CP supporting the presence of impulsivity and visual search deficit in this group of children, while the SLD did not show any significant impairment. Results have been discussed in terms of the capacity of the BIA to distinguish children with ADHD, ODD or SLD.

Executive Functions (EFs) are high-order cognitive processes relevant to learning and adaptation and frequently impaired in children with specific learning disorders (SLDs). This study aimed to investigate EFs in children with SLD and explore the role of specific EF-related subprocesses, such as stimuli processing and processing speed. Fifty-seven SLD and 114 typically developing (TD) children, matched for gender and age, completed four tasks measuring response inhibition, interference control, shifting, and updating on a web-based teleassessment platform. The results show that SLD children performed lower in all EF tasks than TD children, regardless of stimulus type and condition. Mediation analyses suggested that differences between the SLD and TD groups are mediated by EF-related subprocesses, offering an interpretative model of EF deficits in children with SLD.

L’autoregolazione, nelle componenti emotiva, comportamentale e cognitiva (Funzioni Esecutive), assume un ruolo chiave nello sviluppo, sia tipico sia atipico, dei bambini. Il Training FEREA è un trattamento che, in seguito ai primi dati di efficacia del 2021, è in continuo aggiornamento per garantire ai bambini e alle famiglie una presa in carico efficace ma anche sostenibile: il nostro ultimo studio include 22 bambini dai 3 ai 9 anni con diversi quadri diagnostici, che hanno svolto 10 sessioni di terapia individuale o di gruppo per l’autoregolazione e le funzioni esecutive. Tra questi, 8 famiglie hanno partecipato attivamente al percorso tramite almeno 2 incontri di consulenza FEREA Parenting per genitori e almeno 1 incontro di FEREA @School per i propri insegnanti. Il training con il bambino include giochi e attività motivanti, sfidanti e personalizzate per stimolare il controllo inibitorio, la memoria di lavoro e la flessibilità. Gli incontri con i genitori si incentrano sul concetto di parenting positivo, mentre con gli insegnanti si lavora sulla gestione delle difficoltà di attenzione e comportamento. L’efficacia del training, nelle modalità «solo bambino» e «multimodale» è stata valutata tramite il questionario per le funzioni esecutive QUFE e il questionario per l’autoregolazione QOSA-P, compilato dai genitori (pre vs post). I risultati preliminari indicano miglioramenti significativi per tutti i bambini a prescindere dalla diagnosi e dall’età, ma comunque maggiori per i bambini prescolari.

In recent decades, the utility of cognitive tele-assessment has increasingly been highlighted, both in adults and in children. The present study aimed to present TeleFE, a new tool for the tele-assessment of EF in children aged 6–13. TeleFE consists of a web platform including four tasks based on robust neuropsychological paradigms to evaluate inhibition, interference suppression, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and planning. It also includes questionnaires on EF for teachers and parents, to obtain information on the everyday functioning of the children. As TeleFE allows the assessment of EF both remotely and in-person, a comparison of the two modalities was conducted by administering TeleFE to 1288 Italian primary school children. A series of ANOVA was conducted, showing no significant effect of assessment modality (p > 0.05 for all the measures). In addition, significant differences by class emerged for all the measures (p < 0.001 for all the measures except p = 0.008 for planning). Finally, a significant sex effect emerged for inhibition (p < 0.001) and for the reaction times in both interference control (p = 0.013) and cognitive flexibility (p < 0.001), with boys showing a lower inhibition and faster reaction times. The implications of these results along with the indications for the choice of remote assessment are discussed.

A workshop on the role of Executive Functions (EF) in the development of Narrative Competence (NC). EF and NC, taken singly, are two over-investigated domains. However, our knowledge about if and how they related to each other across development is limited. In this intervention I summarized the state of art on this argument, presenting the results of a meta-analysis we have conducted. Implications for clinical and educational practice are discussed. I also provided guidelines for future research on this topic.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between self-esteem, school well-being and academic achievement in a sample of 8 to 13 year-old-students, taking into account the student, parent and teacher’s point of view. This study has confirmed the existance of a reciprocal influence between the child’s educational achievement and his/her school self-esteem. According to the findings of this investigation, the main factors related with academic self-esteem are the anxiety level, the learning skills and school well-being. The learning skills and school well-being are also significantly related with academic achievement, on the contrary anxiety is a mediator of these relationships. This research may be useful for the development of programs and strategies to promote child’s well-being, self-esteem and success at school having parent’s and teacher’s involvement.

The QUVA-p is a screening tool for identifying preschoolers with self-regulation difficulties. In the present study, preliminary normative age-related data (3, 4, 5 years) are provided separately for males and females and the relationship between self-regulation difficulties and adaptation is analyzed. The questionnaire is preschool teacher-completed, easy and quick to fill-out, and showed good psychometric properties. It can be valuable for the clinician in the early stage of the assessment to detect self-regulation problems potentially predicting Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD).

Background: Children with dyslexia often show second-language reading and writing difficulties, but the cognitive mechanisms connected to this impairment need to be clarified. Aims: The present study examined the neuropsychological mechanisms underlying learning English as a foreign language in 4th- to the 8th-grade Italian students showing reading difficulties (RD) or typical development (TD). For this purpose, screening involving 901 students was carried out to select children with RD. Sample: Ninety students with RD were compared with 90 typically developing (TD) children matched for non-verbal IQ, grade, and gender. Methods: The two groups were compared on different measures to understand the relationships between reading skills in their mother tongue and in English as a second-language (L2). Subsequently, their phonological and memory skills were investigated to understand the potential role of these variables in learning L2 English. Results: Students with RD obtained worse results than TD students for phonological awareness and working memory, which are both crucial to L2 learning. Conclusions: The results suggest that memory mainly influences accuracy in English writing and, together with phonological skills, plays an important role in reading accuracy. Socio-economic status also plays an important role in L2 learning.

In the original article, there was an error because we wrongly coded four studies (Gade et al., 2017) as including a computerized training, which was not correct. In the Abstract, we stated that the condition computerized vs. non-computerized versions of the training was significant, but this was not the case. Moreover, in Table 1, we deleted “computerized” in the four studies published by Gade et al. (2017) and on Table 3, we corrected the values related to “computerized vs. non-computerized trainings”. Supplementary Data Sheet 2 has been corrected and updated. Corrections have also been made to Table 1, Table 3, as well as the following paragraphs indicated below.

In the original article, there was an error because we wrongly coded four studies (Gade et al., 2017) as including a computerized training, which was not correct. In the Abstract, we stated that the condition computerized vs. non-computerized versions of the training was significant, but this was not the case. Moreover, in Table 1, we deleted “computerized” in the four studies published by Gade et al. (2017) and on Table 3, we corrected the values related to “computerized vs. non-computerized trainings”. Supplementary Data Sheet 2 has been corrected and updated. Corrections have also been made to Table 1, Table 3, as well as the following paragraphs indicated below.

In the past decade, converging evidence has suggested that motor impairment is one of the most consistent markers, alongside sociocommunicative difficulties, for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Indeed, widespread anomalies of movement have been described in the ASD context. These motor abnormalities could have critical implications for subsequent cognitive and social development. Nevertheless, this area of development is particularly underexamined in the autism-related context, and early intervention programs commonly focus on the core symptoms of the condition. In the present work, we review and discuss the findings from recent studies that investigated the effect of interventions regarding fundamental motor skills in autistic children. Although the limited nature of the literature prevents researchers from drawing definitive conclusions, the results from the studies discussed here demonstrated potentially significant improvements in the motor abilities of autistic children after the interventions. Only a subset of the reviewed studies explored possible changes in the sociocommunicative domain after the motor skills improvements, and they had not concordant, although promising, conclusions. Overall, in consideration of the well-documented motor impairment people with the condition, the present findings highlight the importance of including motor skills training within the rehabilitation programs designed for autistic children. Furthermore, this narrative review encourages future interventional trials to consider motor skills as a possible target for reducing activity limitations and participation restrictions of autistic children.

Based on a multi-dimensional model of wellbeing in school that includes psychological, cognitive and social components, the aim of this investigation was to (a) analyse differences based on gender and school level (primary or middle school) in children’s subjective reports of their school wellbeing, (b) analyse correlates of subjective school wellbeing considering learning skills, grades and behavioural problems, and (c) investigate parents’ and teachers’ personal experiences and observations related to children with a low level of subjective school wellbeing. The sample comprised 1038 third- to eighth-grade students who completed the Questionnaire on School Wellbeing (QBS; Tobia and Marzocchi in QBS 8-13. Questionari per la valutazione del benessere scolastico e identificazione dei fattori di rischio [QBS 8-13. Questionnaires for the evaluation of school wellbeing and the identification of risk factors], Erickson, Trento, 2015a), which investigates the gratification obtained by results in school, relationships with teachers and classmates, emotional attitude towards school, and self-efficacy. The results showed significant gender differences (e.g., a better relationship with teachers but a poorer emotional attitude towards school for girls) and lower scores on school wellbeing in middle school students compared to primary school students. Among primary school students, wellbeing tended to be positively influenced by learning skills, whereas it was positively influenced by grades and negatively influenced by behavioural problems among middle school students. Finally, both parents and teachers of children with low levels of school wellbeing described greater feelings of worry, guilt, and tension in relation to the children’s difficulties. Parents reported more learning and emotional difficulties in these children, whereas teachers reported lower self-awareness. These results may offer insights to inform school policies and interventions aimed at improving children’s